senator john kerry is playing romney in president obama's practice sessions. the president is out of practice. the last time he debated was four years ago. and, rob and paula, according to the latest abc news/"washington post" poll, 56% of americans expect president obama to win the debates. mitt romney told voters yesterday, the debates are about more than who comes out on top. they are a chance for a month-long conversation with the american people. >> managing expectations, as always. tahman bradley, live in washington for us. thanks, tahman. >>> and abc news coverage of the debate begins tomorrow night at 9:00 eastern, 6:00 pacific. keep right here on abc. >>> and there is word this morning of a series of secret meetings at the white house. focusing on the threat from al qaeda in north africa. "the washington post" says the meetings came before the 9/11 attacks on u.s. compounds in libya. during the discussions, the possibility of unilateral strikes against al qaeda targets in that region were reportedly considered for the very first time. >>> and there ar